Dining out can end up costing you a fortune. After you’ve enjoyed an appetizer, selected an entrée, enjoyed that glass of wine, and indulged in a piece of chocolate cake, you’ll find your final total added up quickly. Luckily, there are ways you can still enjoy eating at your favorite restaurant while saving a few bucks. Here are some ideas:

Dine Early and During the Week

For most restaurants, prime money-making hours are during dinner time. This is when menu prices tend to spike and special deals disappear. Instead, try dining out a bit early. Many restaurants offer an early bird special which offers many meals for less. Eating during the lunch hour is another great way to save. You can enjoy great meals for much less.

Many restaurants offer daily deals Monday-Friday. Eat out on those days and hit up the specials. For example, many Mexican restaurants offer Taco Tuesdays, which feature delicious tacos for just $1.00! Happy hour deals are another great way to save on both food and cocktails.

Use Coupons and Get Social!

You can find many great coupons for popular restaurant chains nationwide. If you’re looking to dine at your favorite locally owned establishment, check out Facebook, Yelp or Twitter. With the boom in social networking, many businesses are getting the word out about special deals and coupons online.

Restaurant.com is another great resource for finding hot discounts on local restaurants. Simply search for restaurants in your zip code to find fantastic deals. Restaurant.com offers gift certificate deals. For example, you can spend just $10.00 for a $25 gift certificate.

Save on Alcohol

Most restaurants offer a large array of specialty cocktails, wines and beers. Unfortunately, these are usually marked way up. If you know you’ll want to have a glass of wine with dinner, consider bringing your own bottle of wine. Most restaurants will simply charge you a corkage fee. Usually, the cost of the bottle of wine at the grocery store plus the small corkage fee is much less than ordering a bottle of wine in the restaurant.

Happy hour deals are another great way to save on beer, wine and cocktails. Some restaurants only offer these deals in the bar area. If that’s the case, consider eating there. You will usually still get great service and a full menu to choose from, you’ll just get to take advantage of great deals!

Enjoy Favorites at Home

Instead of indulging in an appetizer before dinner or a delicious dessert afterwards, why not plan ahead and enjoy these things at home? You can have a light snack before heading out to hold you over until your dinner arrives. Instead of ordering a piece of cake after dinner or an expensive cocktail during, consider enjoying both of these at home. It will be a nice way to wind down and relax at the end of the night!

Posted in: How to Save | Comments (0) | Join Discussion